GLASS LIGHT ART & ARCHITECTURE SYNERGIES
Progressing the use of glass in architecture, art and construction
A Memory in Light: Commemorating
Vietnam
This podcast explores the Vietnam Veterans' Commemorative Walk in Seymour, Victoria, Australia and talks to Australian participants, protesters against the war, Vietnamese survivors and memorial designers, about the impact one of the most divisive modern wars has had on a generation and on society at large.
Photo credit Mark Wilson Photography
At 21 years of age I actually thought it was an adventure
and I wanted to see how I would go under fire.
Pete, a former national serviceman
No-one wants to go to war, but we should never forget the word mateship.
Vietnam Veterans’ Day participant at the Vietnam Veterans’ Commemorative Walk, Seymour, Victoria
It’s beautifully designed; it’s a reflective space and also a very Australian space; I’ve never seen a war memorial like it anywhere else in country.
Mark, a visitor to the Vietnam Veterans’ Commemorative Walk
It’s tranquil and the serenity is good. It’s a good place to remember the lives lost on both sides of the war.
Vincent, a Vietnamese visitor to the Vietnam Veterans’ Commemorative Walk.
Production Team
Fiona Gruber
Producer, Writer and Narrator
Lynne Dore
Project Manager, Glaas Inc.
Donna Kennedy
Director, Glaas Inc
Melissa May
Sound Engineer
Dr. Bronwyn Hughes OAM
Art History and History Consultant, Glaas Inc.
Acknowledgements
Heartfelt thanks to those who generously participated in this documentary.
Main interviews; John Blackwell, Carolyn Burgess, Peter Dore, Bruce Dunlop, Bronwyn Hughes, Long Viet Nguyen, Jean McLean, Bill Melbourne, Phin Murphy, John Phoenix.
Vox pop interviews; Mark Williams, Vincent, Vietnam veterans and families and others visitors to the Commemorative Walk in August 2024.
Background interviews (unheard but invaluable); John Hawkes, Bill Garner, Jacky Sargood, Eric Holmes.
Audio from film of anti-Vietnam War street march, Australia by kind permission of Dr Lyn Arnold AO on behalf of the former Campaign for Peace in Vietnam organisation.
A big thank you to composer Michael Hughes for permission to use extracts from Mixdown theme and Mixdown Interlude.
Sponsors
A Memory in Light: Commemorating Vietnam was supported by the Victorian Government and the Victorian Veterans Council.
This podcast was made by writer and producer Fiona Gruber on behalf of Glaas Inc.
This podcast was made by writer and producer Fiona Gruber on behalf of Glaas Inc with a Victoria Remembers grant from the Victorian Veterans’ Council.